My thoughts on the Rock Band 3 Squire Guitar
Back in June of 2010 Harmonix, the creators of the Rock Band franchise, issued a press release stating that they would be teaming with fender to create "The Rock Band 3 Squier® by Fender Stratocaster® Guitar Controller...a fully functional, full-sized, electric guitar with strings that also functions as a game controller for Rock Band 3’s innovative Pro mode gameplay." At that time no release date was given. But it did drum up quite a buzz. However when the game was released in late October that same year there was still no date or price for this guitar. And soon the buzz died down and became a mere afterthought.
The guitar was finally quietly released on March 1st, 2011 as a Best Buy exclusive retailing at $279.99. For an exclusive Best Buy seemingly paid no attention trying to market it or even put it in the public eye. I assume this was because the market for it was relatively small. Although it was a fully functioning electric guitar, it was first and foremost seen as a video game peripheral. The biggest drawback was obviously the price. Aside from the price of the guitar, you would also need to purchase a Mad Katz MIDI adapter ($40) in order to use the guitar for the game. The total cost for the game, guitar, and adapter would run close to $400, the price of an entire console.
After debating for a long time I finally decided to get it. For two main reasons. First being that I have been trying to teach myself guitar on and off since 2004 and have had little to no success. I figured Rock Band 3's pro guitar mode would be able to teach me. And secondly I have a soft spot for video game peripherals. The more ostentatious the better.
I've had the time to finally throughly play around with the guitar this past week. My initial thoughts right out of the box was that the guitar was a little on the cheaply made side. It was a bit lighter than my telecaster and the fretboard was plastic on top of a maple wood neck. But the more I played with it the more impressed I became with it. It turns out the plastic fretboard is a necessity. On each fret there is a metal sensor built in to detect what string is being fingered at which fret. It is pretty amazing to see a 2 in the in game interface when I'm holding a string on the 2nd fret and then the number changing when I move my finger. The guitar also has a controller interface built into it so you can navigate through the game with the guitar (although the controller is disabled for the xbox 360). A special pickup was designed for the guitar and it also somehow encompasses the tilt up to use the score multiplier feature. It really is an amazing piece of hardware for the money. Not to mention it is by far the cheapest MIDI guitar you could buy (not counting the "You Rock" MIDI guitar, which honestly does not simulate a real guitar).
As you would probably expect the tutorials on Rock Band 3 for using the guitar are not stellar. They are very basic tutorials. So don't expect this to be like a "how to guide" because it is not. It teaches you how to play single notes then moves to chords. The chords are pictured on the screen and you mimic the shape. In the tutorial they do tell you which finger is supposed to fret which string but when playing an actual song it is either memory or trial and error you have to rely on. Playing is actually quite fun. On easy mode you play single notes that do not really sound anything like the song. As you move up in difficulty, chords are thrown in along with slides and other techniques. The jump from easy to medium is pretty daunting. But in my opinion the guitar does actually do what it says. I feel like you could actually learn to play guitar this way. By playing the songs you learn to move your fingers quickly from chord to chord and keep pace with the music, which is hard to do when trying to learn from a book. You also have to fret actual strings so you will develop dexterity and finger strength. The one big downside is that I feel like since it doesn't really do a good job teaching picking up bad habits while playing is definitely possible. But it does make playing and practicing guitar fun that definitely is a huge plus.
So it claims to be a fully functional electric guitar...does it deliver on this point? Yes and no. Yes it can be plugged into an amp and played. But it lacks many features of a regular squire stratocaster. It only has one pickup as opposed to three, it lacks a tremolo bar (whammy bar), and it lacks any tone adjustment controls. Ultimately it is a passable beginner guitar but definitely not for anyone serious about playing guitar. But then again those people are not even the target audience. If you can already play guitar proficiently this one isn't really for you.
I do in fact love the guitar/peripheral. For the money it is more than worth it. Don't buy this expecting to magically be able to play guitar just because you could play rock band with the plastic guitars. Just like actually learning it will take a lot of practice to become proficient. But ultimately the game will keep you focused and you will be able to see improvement, which will provide incentive to keep practicing. If you have any interest in learning to play the guitar but have had little success with books and videos or just love rock band this guitar is worth picking up. In my honest opinion I think throwing down the extra money for this guitar and the equipment needed to use it for the game (if you already have a console)is a better investment than buying a cheap starter kit from a music store. Those kits are just awful. If nothing else you'll at least have a cool guitar controller sitting around.
QUICK ADD: So this may be an isolated incident with just my game and system but I've experienced lock up very frequently and have had to manually reset my console. It has gotten to the point where it is a serious annoyance so just be aware that this could happen.
The guitar was finally quietly released on March 1st, 2011 as a Best Buy exclusive retailing at $279.99. For an exclusive Best Buy seemingly paid no attention trying to market it or even put it in the public eye. I assume this was because the market for it was relatively small. Although it was a fully functioning electric guitar, it was first and foremost seen as a video game peripheral. The biggest drawback was obviously the price. Aside from the price of the guitar, you would also need to purchase a Mad Katz MIDI adapter ($40) in order to use the guitar for the game. The total cost for the game, guitar, and adapter would run close to $400, the price of an entire console.
After debating for a long time I finally decided to get it. For two main reasons. First being that I have been trying to teach myself guitar on and off since 2004 and have had little to no success. I figured Rock Band 3's pro guitar mode would be able to teach me. And secondly I have a soft spot for video game peripherals. The more ostentatious the better.
I've had the time to finally throughly play around with the guitar this past week. My initial thoughts right out of the box was that the guitar was a little on the cheaply made side. It was a bit lighter than my telecaster and the fretboard was plastic on top of a maple wood neck. But the more I played with it the more impressed I became with it. It turns out the plastic fretboard is a necessity. On each fret there is a metal sensor built in to detect what string is being fingered at which fret. It is pretty amazing to see a 2 in the in game interface when I'm holding a string on the 2nd fret and then the number changing when I move my finger. The guitar also has a controller interface built into it so you can navigate through the game with the guitar (although the controller is disabled for the xbox 360). A special pickup was designed for the guitar and it also somehow encompasses the tilt up to use the score multiplier feature. It really is an amazing piece of hardware for the money. Not to mention it is by far the cheapest MIDI guitar you could buy (not counting the "You Rock" MIDI guitar, which honestly does not simulate a real guitar).
As you would probably expect the tutorials on Rock Band 3 for using the guitar are not stellar. They are very basic tutorials. So don't expect this to be like a "how to guide" because it is not. It teaches you how to play single notes then moves to chords. The chords are pictured on the screen and you mimic the shape. In the tutorial they do tell you which finger is supposed to fret which string but when playing an actual song it is either memory or trial and error you have to rely on. Playing is actually quite fun. On easy mode you play single notes that do not really sound anything like the song. As you move up in difficulty, chords are thrown in along with slides and other techniques. The jump from easy to medium is pretty daunting. But in my opinion the guitar does actually do what it says. I feel like you could actually learn to play guitar this way. By playing the songs you learn to move your fingers quickly from chord to chord and keep pace with the music, which is hard to do when trying to learn from a book. You also have to fret actual strings so you will develop dexterity and finger strength. The one big downside is that I feel like since it doesn't really do a good job teaching picking up bad habits while playing is definitely possible. But it does make playing and practicing guitar fun that definitely is a huge plus.
So it claims to be a fully functional electric guitar...does it deliver on this point? Yes and no. Yes it can be plugged into an amp and played. But it lacks many features of a regular squire stratocaster. It only has one pickup as opposed to three, it lacks a tremolo bar (whammy bar), and it lacks any tone adjustment controls. Ultimately it is a passable beginner guitar but definitely not for anyone serious about playing guitar. But then again those people are not even the target audience. If you can already play guitar proficiently this one isn't really for you.
I do in fact love the guitar/peripheral. For the money it is more than worth it. Don't buy this expecting to magically be able to play guitar just because you could play rock band with the plastic guitars. Just like actually learning it will take a lot of practice to become proficient. But ultimately the game will keep you focused and you will be able to see improvement, which will provide incentive to keep practicing. If you have any interest in learning to play the guitar but have had little success with books and videos or just love rock band this guitar is worth picking up. In my honest opinion I think throwing down the extra money for this guitar and the equipment needed to use it for the game (if you already have a console)is a better investment than buying a cheap starter kit from a music store. Those kits are just awful. If nothing else you'll at least have a cool guitar controller sitting around.
QUICK ADD: So this may be an isolated incident with just my game and system but I've experienced lock up very frequently and have had to manually reset my console. It has gotten to the point where it is a serious annoyance so just be aware that this could happen.
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Gemma